The runner-up award went to Y/N Studio's Lido Line, which would revamp a portion of the Regent’s Canal, transforming it into an outdoor lap pool for those who were inspired by this year's summer Olympics. The retrofitted channel would make it possible to swim the ‘Lido Line’ from Little Venice all the way to Limehouse.

The competition was hosted by The Landscape Institute, the Mayor of London and the Garden Museum, and judged by a panel of experts that included the founders of the High Line. Over 170 designs were entered, and we were surprised to learn that, unlike the High Line, which lifts New Yorkers away from the urban hustle and bustle, London chose a winning design that will require some digging.

Fletcher Priest‘s Pop Down mushroom farm could provide a break from hot summer heat while producing something edible. But visitors to the tunnel wouldn’t need a flash light: it would be lit by fiber-optics inside the mail rail in addition to sunlight, which would filter down through sculptural glass mushrooms placed at street level.